Peak TV Has Become an Avalanche

Oh boy. While writing up my list of my most anticipated new television and web series of 2019, I went and looked at my lists from 2017 and 2018. It just served as a reminder of how many shows I've missed or skipped. "The Romanoffs" and "FLCL: Progressive" were on previous lists, and I haven't watched. I don't plan to, since I'm no longer interested in those shows. I have way too many programs to watch that I actually am interested in. I made it through a single episode of "Counterpart" before becoming distracted by a rush of new releases. I don't know if I'll ever get around to a second.

How is it that I haven't seen any of the new "Duck Tales" yet? I'm a massive Disney nerd, and grew up with the original. Everything I've been hearing about the reboot has been fantastic, and all the little cameos and crossovers I've heard about are aimed directly at me! What about the revival of "Murphy Brown"? It's been cancelled due to ratings, but I still want to see for myself how the show has handled certain things. Omigod, "GLOW." "GLOW" looks like so much fun, but I never seem to be in the mood to start it. I've also been curious about "Castle Rock," "Titans," "Dark," the new "She-Ra" and "Patriot." I would have watched two or three episodes of the massively hyped "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina" a few years ago. Now, I can't even get past the goofy title sequence.

Part of the issue is that I've made a conscious decision to prioritize films over television, so even though I've cut down on viewing hours overall, there's been a big shift toward films. I've accepted that I'll never be able to properly keep up with the Emmy race, but the Oscars are much easier. You only have to watch about twenty to thirty films to be decently informed enough to participate in the awards season chatter. However, those twenty to thirty films still eat up a lot of time. During the winter crunch, I just end up letting episodes of current shows I'm watching pile up for later. I still haven't finished the latest series of "Doctor Who," and that ended months ago. Haven't even started "Runaways," but I'll probably wait until that one's released all its episodes and binge it. Not thinking about "Young Justice" right now.

I'm very reluctant to start new shows, especially if they're ongoing, because I'm wary of not being able to keep up with recent cinematic releases. It's gotten to the point where I'm secretly a little relieved after one of the show's I've committed to finishing finally comes to an end. Saying goodbye to "The Americans" last year was easy, and I was a little annoyed "The Expanse" was saved at the last minute. It's a good show and deserves another season, but does it really need one? And as a compulsive completionist, I can't not see how the series ends. I've gotten better about this in recent years, dropping "Mr. Robot" and "Orange is the New Black" after their first seasons, but sunk cost fallacy eventually gets to me after two or three.

"True Detective"is back this month. So are "Luther," "Star Trek: Discovery" and "The Good Place." I'll get around to all of these eventually since I've watched and enjoyed their prior seasons. I'm more willing to give chances to the shows that have been consistent performers in the past. So "The Crown" is an automatic yes, even though the entire cast will be changing this year. However, I've noticed that I'm also terribly prone to getting swept up in buzz, especially when limited streaming series are involved. That's why I watched "Maniac," "Homecoming," and "The Haunting of Hill House" last year. It's a combination of the novelty, less commitment, and immediate access, I think. Sure, the first season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is only eight episodes, but what if it runs eight seasons?

I'm skipping the new episodes of "Making a Murderer" and "Arrested Development," but I'll give "Disenchantment" another shot. I'm doubtful about a second season of "Big Little Lies," but the appeal of Meryl Streep is strong. And frankly, the "Game of Thrones" finale is looking more and more like a disaster, but it's way too late to pull out now.

Sigh. Here we go again.
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